


Rites of Spring

by pi_meson



Series: Yuri's L-Words [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Background Victuuri - Freeform, Gen, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Misogyny, The whole russian crowd is there but this isn't about them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 07:29:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11031498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pi_meson/pseuds/pi_meson
Summary: It's Yuri Plisetski's sixteenth birthday at last and Lilia promised him a party.After his triumph at the Grand Prix Final, Yuri remains at Lilia's apartment although Yakov has moved out again. Otabek is visiting and between them they have cooked up a surprise for Lilia: a way for Yuri to say thank you for everything without actually saying, you know,"thank you".When it backfires, Yuri realises he knows much less about Lilia and Yakov than he ever imagined.He's upset, but at least he has his birthday party with his friends to cheer him up, right?Set a few months afterZolushka





	1. The Chosen One

Spring felt very, _very_ far away. March in Saint Petersburg was a cold, grey month, characterised by rain and sleet with only occasional bright, frosty mornings to add sparkle to the drear. But the first of March offered a celebration for Yuri at least. It was his sixteenth birthday, Lilia had promised a party and he had a surprise of his own.

Yuri stuck his arm out of bed, shook Otabek's sleeping form to rouse him from his makeshift guest bed: a spare sleeping bag on top of the li-lo Yuri normally took to the seaside in July. Lilia had offered their guest a room of his own in her apartment now that Yakov had moved out but Yuri would not hear of it, and Otabek just shrugged and agreed to everything Yuri suggested. Yuri was rewarded with a quiet groan and the lump spoke.

"Uuugh what time is it?"  
"March the first."  
"Hah! Happy birthday."  
"Thanks. I want coffee."  
"Huh? You think I dare touch anything in Madame's kitchen? She'll turn me into a frog."  
"You look like a frog already."  
"And you smell like one."  
Otabek sat then stood up and grinned at Yuri's too-pale face still puffy from sleep, blond strands matted on one side. He pulled on Yuri's spare robe and stepped out of his sleeping bag.  
"Coffee?"  
"Mmhmm."  
"Okay."

 

"What are you doing?"  
Lilia regarded Otabek, who stared uncomprehending at her coffee machine. Otabek didn't turn round.  
"Yura asked for coffee."  
"Yuri never asks for coffee. He likes fruit juice. There's peach and pear in the fridge."  
Otabek shrugged. "He said coffee. Hm."  
Lilia shook her head and tutted.  
"Here." One handed, her left arm occupied with Potya the cat, she opened a drawer and removed a foil capsule, slotted it into the machine, checked the water level and pushed a button. The machine rumbled and gurgled and coffee dribbled into the small china cup on the dispenser tray. Lilia watched Otabek frown at the cup and couldn't resist teasing. "I wonder what else new Yuri will want to try, now that he is sixteen." She smiled inwardly at Otabek's blush. "And when are you going to show me the routine you've been working on all week?"

That got a reaction. Otabek looked horrified. "Who told you?"  
Lilia gestured at the coffee machine. Otabek passed her the first cup of coffee then made another.  
"Nobody. It's so obvious! Yuri skips ballet class to go to the ice rink when it is supposed to be closed. Yakov tells me you two have been seen huddling in corners talking about jumps and step sequences. Galina says that Milena told her that Mila gave you advice on costumes. I deduced that the two of you are planning another surprise exhibition." Lilia saw from Otabek's face that she was correct. "I wish you had trusted me to help. Your last double act was interesting but sloppy. Take the peach juice too. I'd bet money that Yuri hates coffee."  
"It's not sloppy," said Otabek, reaching into the fridge for a carton of juice on his way out.

Ten minutes later, Lilia's alone-time with the newspaper was disturbed by Yuri shuffling in with his coffee cup. He rinsed it, scratched behind Potya's ears and made more.  
"Happy birthday."  
"Thanks."  
"You like coffee now?"  
"No. This is for Beka."  
"I see."  
"Um."  
"Hmm?"  
"Would you like to come to the ice rink with us this morning?"  
Lilia smiled and nodded.

 

It was, Lilia reluctantly admitted, going to be a good show. Potentially, a _great_ show, in the right setting and with her influence in the final polish. Yuri and Otabek had clearly planned this for a while and practised. The only thing Lilia found to scold them about was that it was off season. Yuri, she lectured, should be resting and taking on just enough training load to prevent him from losing too much strength.  
"You can't stay in top competitive form for more than a few weeks," she scolded. "What if you got an injury? You would not recover in time for the coming season!"  
Otabek stayed quiet, frowning a little as usual, waiting for Yuri to take the lead in dealing with Lilia. Sure enough, Yuri argued back.  
"I _am_ taking it easy! Look, there are no quads, I promise! Nothing harder than a triple lutz. It's not going to cause injury. Except maybe to give Yakov a heart attack."  
Lilia laughed at that and Otabek saw the change in Yuri's demeanour as he relaxed out of fighting mode.  
"Very well," Lilia capitulated. "Show me again. I am pleased that you settled on Stravinsky. I adore _The Firebird."_ She smiled, Otabek thought a little sadly. "Did you know that I danced to _The Rite of Spring_ once?"  
Yuri and Otabek did not dare look at each other as they expressed polite surprise.

Once Lilia had left, after making a few suggestions that they considered, tried out and incorporated into the routine, Otabek skated close to Yuri and gave him a concerned look.  
"Yura? Are you sure about this? Are we abandoning the quads? I thought you were set on that quad-triple from the outside spreadeagle and–"  
Yuri held up a hand and grinned at Otabek. "We lied to Lilia about dancing to _The Firebird_ , Beka. I can take the consequences of also lying about the quads. Tonight is going to be _awesome!"_

 

 

The evening kicked off early: Yuri had been insistent that all his guests arrive by seven-thirty. Yakov and Lilia quietly followed up Yuri's invitations with texts, calls and rumours of what might befall anyone who was late. Everyone gathered in the small cafe of the Sports Champions Club where a buffet was laid out on plastic plates on plastic tablecloths covering plastic tables. There was even wine, only enough for a couple of glasses each but it was decent. Music played in the background from an ancient CD player. The guests stood around, chatting and eating, laughing and giggling. Some had brought small gifts and looked around for somewhere to put them, settling on a spare table in the corner.

Yuuri was the first to ask, "So, where is Yurio?"  
Victor looked puzzled then shrugged. "Who knows. Otabek's not here either. Perhaps they are too busy–"  
A yelp of surprise then a hush fell as the lights in the cafe went off, the lights in the rink went on and music blasted through, the opening of Stravinsky's _The Firebird_. Georgi cursed and Yakov told him off for it while Mila and Anya laughed.  
"I think the mystery of where Yuri and Otabek are is solved," said Lilia with a knowing smile. "Everyone please go to the rink."

Yuri and Otabek stood at the centre of the ice, back to back some distance apart, arms reaching backwards to one another without touching. They were statues against the ice, motionless as the music ebbed and flowed and–

Changed.

Lilia stood dumbstruck as the opening of _Sacrificial Dance_ crashed from the speakers and the two skaters jerked to life. She watched their version of the part that had been choreographed for her four decades earlier when her lithe frame retained a version of physical perfection and her handsome friend Yakov still had a mane of black hair. She gripped the edge of the barrier with one hand while the other covered her mouth.

"Ooh! _The Rite of Spring!"_ A voice, possibly Georgi's, barely troubled her ears.  
_"SHUDDUP!"_ This came as a chorus.  
After that, all eyes focused on Yuri and Otabek. All ears filled with desperate, rushing music.  
All of Lilia's thoughts crashed back to her young self dancing her heart out on stage to rapturous applause, shocking headlines the next day and a proposal she accepted with tears.  
It was...  
It...  
It was astonishing.

_How did they know?_

Yakov was at her elbow, a hand on her back and a soft word in her ear.  
"They don't know what it was like. Back then. For people like... for us."  
Lilia leaned on Yakov and watched. She could not tear her eyes away from the cataclysmic scene depicted in front of her.

Yuri's movements in perfect time with the music, violent and wild. Otabek a perfect counterpoint, reaching but never meeting the _chosen one,_ doomed from the start. Rapid steps and flowing jumps. As Yuri landed Otabek leapt, reaching with futility, chasing but never catching. Yuri's feet moved rapidly enough to make Lilia dizzy and she marvelled at how he kept tempo. Heaven knows it had been almost impossible for her _without_ the added weight of skates. Sometimes Otabek danced in perfect time, sometimes he slipped half a beat behind in a display of syncopation she would not have thought possible. The music calmed. Yuri dropped onto his back on the ice, motionless apart from the deep rise and fall of his ribcage, as Otabek performed an inside spreadeagle around him as if a barrier prevented him from approaching. Yuri flipped onto his front and pushed himself up, one arm then both, one knee then a toehold, all angles, almost spider-like. Upright, he threw himself into a spin while Otabek showed off his prowess at combination jumps. Lilia lost count, lost the power of thought. Yuri's steps got faster and faster. Otabek mirrored his movements perfectly, exaggerating his arm and hip movements just as she had once done on a stage not so far away. The music built up impossibly and Lilia _felt_ the end approach. Yuri launched into a lutz and dropped to the ice as if he had been knocked out of the air. Otabek followed half a beat behind with a triple and a spin that tumbled into a bow, on knees then stomach with hands stretched out in supplication and a look of desperate loss.

The lights went off.

When the lights came back on, Yuri and Otabek took their bows. Victor whooped and cheered. Yuuri looked ecstatic and Mila held her arms out for a hug. Even Georgi and his girlfriend applauded until the pair had left the ice. Yuri looked around and frowned.  
"Where's Lilia?"  
Yakov's meaty hand landed heavily on his shoulder.  
"Heh! Everyone? Back to the party." Yakov's grip tightened. Quietly, he murmured, "Not you. Let Beka go with Vitya for a minute. We need to have a talk."

Yakov steered Yuri over to a bench. "Lilia..." Yakov sighed. "Sit down, Yura. Lilia agreed to marry me because it gave her cover. It was the nineteen-seventies and...," he looked around for the right words, "things were very different. Far worse than they are now for women like Lilia. On the night of her glorious performance as _The Chosen One_ she went out to celebrate and a photographer caught her, the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi, in the arms of her lover."  
"But that was you, wasn't it?" Interrupted Yuri.  
"Hah! No. I was always her friend. I had been sending her lavish bouquets at every curtain call since her eighteenth birthday. For show. No, it was one of the soloists, a girl called Katya. Well. Can you imagine?" Yuri looked lost, frowning and shaking his head.  
"So what!"  
"So what? Yuri, it was a scandal! Lilia would have lost her career over it. She was supposed to be an untouchable beauty, an unblemished princess with a fairytale romance and a big showy wedding to a handsome man. Something her adoring fans could coo over for weeks in the newspapers. How could that happen if she was caught kissing other girls behind the stage door? She would have been thrown out in disgrace. Instead, we laughed off the story as a prank and Lilia showed up at rehearsal the next day on my arm and with the biggest diamond I could afford on her wedding finger, ready for the press to report our engagement."  
Yuri stared open-mouthed at Yakov. Yakov sighed and shook his head.  
"Katya moved to Paris and still hates me. So. If Lilia appears ungrateful for your efforts tonight, please forgive her. Now go join your friends while there is still some food left."

"So you and Lilia never loved each other?" Yuri stood and rounded on Yakov. "How could you–"  
Yakov cut him off with a growl.  
"Whatever makes you say that! Of course we loved each other. We just didn't... Uh..."  
"We didn't desire one another. Yuri, thank you for your performance." Lilia patted his shoulder and smiled. Yuri noticed that her eyes seemed pink under her perfect makeup and looked away, face reddening.  
"I didn't know, okay? How could I know if you don't tell me anything! It was supposed to be nice, a way of saying thanks."  
Lilia stroked Yuri's cheek and lifted his chin with her fingertips.  
"Yuri, my angel, you did a beautiful thing. I'm not angry. I was surprised and a little shocked that's all. I loved your dance. Come here?"  
Yuri stepped forward into Lilia's embrace. She kissed his forehead and released him with a laugh and a sparkle in her eyes.  
"Yakov and I still feel love for one another. But we drive each other crazy if we live together. Go join your friends."

Lilia sat beside Yakov for half a minute in silence.  
"Should I have told him earlier?"  
"Why?" asked Yakov. "It's nobody's business but ours."  
"Hmm." Lilia stared directly ahead, focusing on air. Yakov smiled and put an arm around her shoulders.  
"You look thoughtful. What are you planning?"  
"Yuri and his friend put together a credible routine for _The Firebird_ too. Do you think they would agree to polish their performances a little more and take part in a fundraiser for the team?"  
Yakov stood up and offered Lilia a hand but she stood on her own.  
"I might have known. Lilia, they must focus on their next trip to the Worlds, not some arty exhibition. Skating is a serious sport! Ballet is for show."

From the cafe, Yuri and Otabek watched as Lilia and Yakov bickered their way out of the building. Yuri sighed, wondering what, if anything, to tell the others. He squeezed Otabek's hand once and laughed.  
"Huh. Business as usual!"  
Behind them, Georgi yelled, "Hey! Mom and Pop have gone. Who wants to go out somewhere?"


	2. Procession of the Wise Elders

Victor cheered when Yuri and Otabek rejoined the party.  
"He-e-ey! Yurio!" Yuri submitted to a one-armed hug from his rink mate and one-time mentor then pushed Victor off.  
"Ugh, Vitya! Are you drunk already?"  
"Ha! Fat chance. No. I promised Yakov I would babysit you."  
"Hey! I don't need some old geezer telling me what to do! I'm sixteen, I can do what I want. Get off!"  
Victor laughed and released Yuri. "Ooh! I didn't think of it soon enough. We should have had your party in Switzerland! Christophe would've arranged it. You can go out drinking when you're sixteen there as long as you stick with beer or wine."  
Yuuri, hands clasped around a can of soft drink, stared at Victor.  
"Can you imagine Christophe getting Yurio drunk? Did you forget about the pole dancing? That was Christophe's idea!"  
"Hey!" snapped Yuri, "I thought it was you who had the bad memory!"  
Victor laughed after a couple of seconds of uncomfortable silence and the party resumed.

Mila came over to hug Yuri and wish him happy birthday, and that seemed to be some kind of signal. Georgi repeated his suggestion, louder, that they should all go out together.  
"A bar then a club!" he insisted, "I know a great place - fancy rooftop bar near Nevsky Prospekt. Then on to Dumskaya Ulitsa to go to the loudest club we can find!"  
Mila cheered. Anya asked Georgi if he was trying to impress his new girl, then said she would text her boyfriend to meet them at the bar too. Victor told Yuuri that there would be a great view of the cathedral from the rooftop, so it was worth braving the cold for a drink or two. Otabek was busy contacting DJ friends to find out which was the best club in Saint Petersburg, and Yuri stood a little apart with narrowed eyes, brows pulled low and pink cheeks.

Georgi had already fetched everyone's coats when Yuuri piped up, "Hey? Yurio won't get into a bar or a club. He's only sixteen!"  
Victor shrugged. "He had his party. Probably needs to rest after that exhibition, right?"

Victor flashed a grin at Yuri who almost shook with rage. Otabek took a step back, anticipating an eruption that would leave everyone sour for the rest of the night, but Yuri gritted his teeth, clenched his fists and turned away. His voice raised, but remained just under control.  
"Fine. You all go out and celebrate MY birthday without me. What do I care? Huh?"  
"See!" said Georgi, "It's okay with Yura. Let's go!"  
Only Yuuri frowned with concern, considering a show of protest at abandoning Yuri at his own birthday party but Yuri glared back, angrily daring him to show pity.

The café room looked tacky with only Yuri standing at the side, looking at the remains of the buffet. He considered kicking one of the food tables over, but the caretaker would know it was him and probably make him clean it up himself, so he curbed his temper and settled for upturning the table that held his gifts. Otabek returned to see Yuri kicking a skate-wearing plushie tiger across the floor.

"Yura? If you hated my gift you could've said."  
"Why are you even here?" Yuri glared at Otabek. "Go have fun with the grown-ups. This party sucked anyway."  
"I came h–"  
"GO AWAY!" Yuri yelled, taking a step forward. Otabek didn't move. "Go ON! I don't need them. They're not my friends, just some assholes I see at the rink every fucking day. Go out drinking and clubbing. I don't need you either. I don't need ANYONE!"  
Another kick and a gaudily-wrapped packet burst open, showering a fountain of foil-wrapped chocolates.

Otabek waited for Yuri's fire to burn out. After a few more yelled curses and kicks and stamps, Yuri stood in the middle of the room with his bottom lip firmly caught between his teeth and his arms around himself. Otabek stepped forward and reached out his hand, then let his arm drop. "Yura, If I wanted to go clubbing with your team-mates, I would. I want to go out with you for something to eat. I'm hungry." Yuri's eyes closed and he sighed deeply. Otabek had another idea. "Or we could get junk food then go to Dumskaya Ulitsa. I bet I could get you into a club."  
"No," Yuri shook his head. "They all know me. I'd get kicked out and you'd get banned."  
"Food then." Otabek nodded once, decision made. "Somewhere nice. Birthday treat."  
"Sure," Yuri realised he was ravenous. He shrugged, kicked the spilled sweets under the table, tipped the rest of his childish birthday gifts into the bin, but retrieved the stuffed skating tiger from Otabek and, as an afterthought, an unwrapped package from Yuuri that turned out to contain a robe from his family's onsen and a copy of Hiroko's recipe for katsudon.

Yuri ruled out two restaurants that had strict no-jeans dress codes and they settled on a bistro that looked convenient. They walked close together without talking. Yuri head down, hood up; Otabek frowning forwards until he spotted the restaurant. There was a short wait for a table after Otabek provided ID on demand and raised an eyebrow when the hostess offered him the wine list. He waited until they were alone.  
"Do you want to order wine?" Otabek offered the padded vinyl menu to Yuri. "You have to be twenty-one in Almaty."  
Yuri nodded and grinned. "Champagne?"  
Otabek laughed once and waved at the server. Yuri studied the menu until two tall flutes of sparking wine arrived. Otabek lifted his for a toast.  
"To cool skating."  
"Hah!"

Smalltalk did not come easily to Otabek. He started talking about their _Chosen One_ programme but something hard in Yuri's eyes made him lapse into silence. A brief chat about music petered out too because Yuri knew none of the new bands Otabek was into and it wasn't the kind of place where he could play tracks and make Yuri listen. The food was taking far too long to arrive.  
"Perhaps we should go back to Lilia's and just hang out," suggested Otabek.  
Yuri's head snapped up with a scowl. "Don't you want to be out with me either?"  
"Huh? Yes!" Otabek racked his brain for the right thing to say and came up with nothing better than, "I came to Saint Petersburg to skate with you." He drained his champagne glass and the server asked if they would like more. Yuri nodded. Otabek shrugged. "Sure. Why not."

Yuri fidgeted with his phone until halfway through dinner, then put it down and kicked Otabek under the table. Otabek glanced up from his stroganoff.  
"Sorry."  
"Hmm?"  
"About tonight."  
Otabek met Yuri's cool gaze. "Are you still angry with me?"  
Yuri looked surprised. "What? No! I wasn't angry with you!"  
"Oh." Otabek was not convinced.  
Yuri kicked him again, a light tap on his ankle. "I was angry with Lilia and Yakov, and pissed off at those pigs ruining my birthday."  
"Didn't Lilia like her surprise?" Otabek leaned forward. "Did Yakov tell you off? Because–"  
"No! Uh, I... crap. It brought back some bad memories for Lilia. Yakov told me some stuff I think nobody is supposed to know. I feel bad about it."  
"Huh. If nobody is supposed to know then you better not tell anyone." Otabek took one look at Yuri's desperate face and laughed. He changed the subject. "Do you think Victor is drunk enough to strip yet, and Yuuri is naked breakdancing with Georgi?"  
Yuri almost choked.

Otabek paid for dinner and a bottle of wine to take back to Lilia's where they could drink and talk and listen to music. Yuri was barely affected by his two glasses of champagne. On the walk home, passing the bottle back and forth between them, he explained to Otabek that he wouldn't get drunk because Lilia let him have wine with dinner if Yakov was visiting, which was often, and he knew when to stop. Otabek linked his arm with Yuri's.  
"How long have you been living with Lilia? Since you moved here?"  
"No," Yuri shifted his arm and took Otabek's hand instead. "Since before Skate Canada last year. Yakov brought Lilia to see me skate and she said she would only help coach me if I moved in with her. I thought I'd have to move back to the hostel right after the final but she hasn't mentioned it yet."  
"And neither have you?"  
Yuri shrugged and searched for his key as they turned the corner into Lilia's leafy avenue. "It hasn't come up. Want to watch a movie? Lilia has dozens of old horror films on DVD."

Otabek chose a DVD and they lounged together on Yuri's bed with Yuri's laptop between them and a glass of wine each. Potya graced them with his ennui. Yuri scratched him under the chin and laughed.  
"Perhaps Lilia lets me stay because she likes my cat. He's a traitor."  
Otabek reached over Yuri and ruffled Potya's soft shoulder. "Does the hostel still stink of cabbage?"  
"Ha! It's gross! I forgot you must have stayed there when you came to ballet school." Yuri lifted Potya and placed the cat between them. Potya mewed once but padded his large front paws for a few seconds and settled. Yuri stroked him until he rumbled contentedly. "I want to stay here. Lilia's a pain in the ass sometimes but the wi-fi's fantastic and she lets me make pirozhki. I feel–"  
A fake scream from the movie made them laugh and they leaned against one another to stare at the screen.

Yuri jerked awake, head on Otabek's shoulder, stiff with cold. A voice called from the hallway outside Yuri's door. Lilia.  
"Yuri? Otabek?"  
"Heh, leave them alone, Lilia!"  
Yakov.  
Yuri groaned and stretched. Otabek did the same then picked up their glasses. His own had spilled wine onto his sleeping bag on the floor. Yuri noticed and tutted. Otabek suppressed a laugh at how much like Lilia Yuri sometimes seemed.  
"No," Otabek put a hand on Yuri's knee to stop him from getting up. "It's still your birthday so I will take the glasses back and get some water for us both. You need anything else?"  
Yuri shook his head and smiled in a way that made Otabek feel good. He smiled back.

Lilia and Yakov were both in the kitchen. Otabek got as far as the sink to wash their wine glasses before anyone spoke. It was Yakov.  
"Hmm. Did Yura have a nice evening?"  
Otabek examined the glass he had soaped and rinsed.  
"I hope so."  
He soaped and rinsed the same glass again. Lilia spoke next, "Did you go out anywhere nice?"  
"We had dinner and came back here to watch a movie. The others went out drinking and clubbing."  
Yakov grunted disapproval. "Huh. I saw on Instagram. Victor was half naked and that idiot Georgi was on the floor with Yuuri. Ridiculous."  
Otabek almost dropped the second glass into the sink.

Lilia sent Yakov to her sitting room and watched Otabek for a few seconds.  
"Thank you for sticking with Yuri. He finds it so difficult to make friends. Victor is too absorbed with himself and Georgi won't take him seriously. I think it is that sad boy's way of coping with failure. He is insulted that he could learn from someone so much younger than him."  
Otabek offered Lilia a quizzical look. Lilia continued.  
"I thought you would be a bad influence, and you are in a way because you both have a lot to learn about choreography. Maybe we could discuss that another time. Beka?"  
Lilia pointed at the kitchen table and Otabek sat.  
"Yuri is not as grown up as he likes to think. He has sacrificed a lot to be where he is. Do you understand?" Otabek felt Lilia's steady gaze and nodded. "Of course you do. You made sacrifices too. You came here at thirteen for a ballet summer school with our Yura. Ha! Yakov remembers you: the grumpy little Kazakh boy who hated ballet class. But you did it. You did what you had to do."  
Lilia gave Otabek her hardest glare. "We all do what we have to do. Hmm?"  
Otabek frowned, genuinely confused. "Uh, Madame? Is this about the thing Yura found out tonight but he won't tell me?"

Lilia's eyes opened in surprise. She stood, turned and left the kitchen. She tapped on Yuri's door and pushed it open after a few seconds. Yuri was in bed.  
"Hey!"  
Lilia apologised. "Sorry. Yura, you didn't say anything, even to Beka?"  
"Of course not!" He scowled and sat up. "What kind of person do you think I am?"  
Lilia walked over to Yuri, smoothed his hair, leaned over and kissed his cheek. She murmured, _I apologise for underestimating you."_  
Lilia left, and Yuri smiled to himself.

In the kitchen, Lilia found Yakov in what looked like a silent glaring contest with Otabek. The boy muttered a rapid _goodnight_ and vanished. Lilia called _goodnight, Beka!_ after him then sat opposite Yakov for an explanation. Yakov exaggerated a shrug.  
"Wha-a-at?"  
"What did you say to embarrass Yura's friend?"  
"Nothing he didn't need to hear!"  
"Yakov!"

Otabek closed Yuri's door and leaned against it.  
"No water? I'm thirsty!" Yuri watched Otabek slowly shake his head.  
"I'll go back when the coast is clear. Yakov just asked me if we need condoms."  
Yuri spluttered into embarrassed giggles. "Oh my god, that filthy old geezer!"  
"I know!" Otabek covered his face. "I don't think I can look him in the eyes ever again. I... oh... hang on."  
From down the hall came the sound of a quiet goodnight and the apartment door being locked. Otabek slipped out and returned moments later with two bottles of water from the fridge. Yuri reached out for one and downed half of it while Otabek changed into pyjamas and shook out his damp sleeping bag.

Yuri shook his head and moved over. "Ugh, no, sleep up here tonight. You can't sleep in that."  
"Are you sure?" Otabek frowned at Yuri. Yuri scowled back.  
"You want to be cold? Suit yourself!"  
Otabek draped the sleeping bag over the back of Yuri's chair and slipped into the warm space Yuri offered him. They settled with Yuri's head on Otabek's shoulder and Otabek's arm around Yuri's back. After a moment, Yuri laid his arm across Otabek's chest. Yuri yawned and sighed. "Goodnight, Beka. Thanks for tonight."  
Otabek smiled. Without really thinking about it, he tightened his grip for a second and kissed the top of Yuri's head. "Goodnight, Yura. Happy birthday."


End file.
